Breadboard Material

[Larry Anderson]

My daughter wants to replace her under counter pull out breadboard. I suppose the best choice would be maple. Since I have oak on hand would it be an acceptable alternative?

[Steve Baumgartner]

I'd stick with a tight-grained hardwood such as maple or cherry. With red oak I would expect problems both with too much water absorbing into it and with the surface shedding splinters, both because of its large open pores. Also, oak is more likely to impart a taste to things cut on it.

[Brian Tymchak]

My daughter wants to replace her under counter pull out breadboard. I suppose the best choice would be maple. Since I have oak on hand would it be an acceptable alternative?

Oak is a very porous, grainy wood. If it was used truly just to cut bread, that's not a problem. Bread crumbs are dry and easy to clean out the grain. But if it's used to cut anything juicy (meat, vegies, etc) you are inviting the possibility of growing some nasty bacteria in those pores.

[Larry Anderson]

Well, my thoughts exactly, but I thought it was worth asking. Thanks.

[ray hampton]

Is it safe to cut meat or vegies on wood that are not well-seal ?
I prefer plastic [no pores ]

[Steve Jenkins]

I can't remember which university did the tests but there have been extensive testing done on wood vs anything else for cutting boards and it was found that the woooden ones had a much lower ( close to zero) level of bacteria than any of the other materials.

Is it safe to cut meat or vegies on wood that are not well-seal ?
I prefer plastic [no pores ]

[Paul Symchych]

There have been a couple of studies that show wood to be superior to plastic when it comes to bacteria. A quick search came up with this one:
http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

[Greg Portland]

My daughter wants to replace her under counter pull out breadboard. I suppose the best choice would be maple. Since I have oak on hand would it be an acceptable alternative?Larry, I've built a few that alternated walnut and maple strips (3/4"-1" strips). I've also done solid maple with a dark wood border (custom look but the food stays on the tight-grain maple wood).

[Bill ThompsonNM]

From what I remember of the original studies of wood cutting boards and bacteria, oak fared very well.. Despite the large pores, the heavy tannin content contributes to the bacteriacidal properties. I've been using the same oak cutting board since 1970.... from some scrap while constructing stair banninsters. It looks and cleans up just as well as ever despite 40 years of dish soap...